And The Story Goes On And On
by A Black Queen
Summary: Spoilers from 12x06 "Elliott's Pond". There's a reason Dave was the one to tell the team the truth about Hotch's absence.


**Hello, everyone! I'm pleasantly surprised to be back sharing one more CM story (my previous username was Hotch Fan in case anyone even remembers me), but as you can imagine I couldn't leave Hotch go without at least writing a little something as a farewell. This is set somewhere before** **12x06 "Elliott's Pond", but have obvious spoilers from said episode. **I hope you enjoy it and remember, a** ny comment or criticism will be greatly appreciated. **

**I don't owe Criminal Minds or any of his characters.**

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 **OoOoO**

 **Title: And The Story Goes On And On.**

Dave looked down at the tumbler in his hand. He watched the ice floating in the amber liquid as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. Finally, he brought it to his lips and took a long drink before looking at the man at his side.

"How're you holding up?"

Hotch didn't reply, but the expression on his face as he turned to look at him told him more than anything the younger man would have said with words.

"What about Jack? How's he doing?" If there was one thing- person Hotch would never hesitate to talk about, it was his son. Especially when it came to Jack's well-being.

"He's ... doing okay, I think." Hotch rubbed a hand across his face. "He's still reeling from what happened with the Justice Department, and now with this. I haven't told him everything yet."

Dave nodded, looking down at his scotch again. He could only imagine what Jack had felt seeing his father held at gunpoint and dragged out of his home like a criminal. It wasn't something the boy was going to get over fast, much less on his own. Of course, Dave had no doubt his father was going to be there to help him through it; the stubborn boy only needed to _accept_ it.

When he looked up again, he was immediately put on alert when he saw the look on Hotch's face.

"What is it?"

"I've had a lot of time to think these past few weeks."

"Okay," He replied warily.

Hotch hesitated before speaking again, and that on itself was telling enough.

"After what happened at Jack's school, the Bureau assigned us surveillance 24/7, but not even that can guarantee nothing is going to happen to him."

Dave couldn't argue with that. They had been doing this job long enough to know better than to believe blindly.

"We both know this isn't going to be solved by extending my leave from work or even resigning temporally. I can't just lock Jack in here or follow him everywhere indefinitely. And- I can't protect him." Hotch admitted with a pained look. "Not to the extent he needs it right now.

"I can only try to protect him. I would give my life in a heartbeat to keep him safe, but that isn't good enough."

"Alright. What do you have in mind then?" He asked. It was mostly unnecessary. He had an inkling of what the younger agent was thinking and he didn't like it one bit.

Hotch took a deep breath before speaking. "Maybe Jack and I should go into witness protection. Until this is solved."

Dave held back his initial reaction-a vehement negative, along with the reassurance the team could and _would_ protect them-and instead studied the other man.

"This is more than just a simple idea, isn't it?"

"I already made a few phone calls to arrange everything," Hotch admitted, meeting Dave's eyes straight on.

Dave placed his empty tumbler on the table and then reached to rub his forehead. He said nothing for a moment.

"What about Jessica? What did she say?"

"She hates the mere idea of being away from Jack, but she told me she would support any decision I take to keep him safe." Hotch cradled the glass between his hands. "She's worried sick about this."

Dave nodded. He was relieved to know Jessica made the decision to support Aaron instead of taking the easy way and blame him for what was happening, not matter how unfair it would have been. She was a good woman.

"Do you think this is a good idea?"

"I don't have any other option, Dave. Not if I want to ensure Jack is safe. Or as safe as he can be with Lewis on the loose." Hotch added through a clenched jaw.

"This situation is only temporary," Dave reminded him. "Everything is going to work out once we catch him."

"And how long is that going to take? You don't know that, and neither do I. I just- I can't allow Jack to live in permanent fear until he's caught; being followed everywhere by strangers and looking over his shoulder waiting for the moment something is going to happen to him." Hotch's eyes were tired as they asked- begged him to understand. "I don't want him to live like that. I don't want to keep putting him at risk just because of what _I do."_

Dave leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly together in front of him as he tried to quell the hot fury that was filling him. This was fucking bullshit. All of it. It wasn't fair that after everything they both had gone through; everything they had lost, Jack and Hotch have to keep losing more and more, now being forced to leave their family and home behind due to the threats of a sick bastard.

The older profile took a moment to look, _really_ look at the man at his side. He saw the pale face and hollow cheeks. The dark circles under his brown eyes were even more pronounced that they had been before, as impossible as that sounded. The frankly sick aspect of the younger man wasn't surprising. Being worried about his son's safety and the need to stay alert at every moment were taking a huge toll on him.

It was likely that only Hotch's strong will was stopping him from breaking down. Again.

"You're right. This is the best way to keep Jack safe. And you too." Dave added with a pointed look. "I don't like it, but you're right."

"I don't like it either," Hotch said with a minute twitch of lips.

He nodded. "Are you going to tell the team?"

Hotch looked away for the first time. "I- I don't think I can do it."

Dave said nothing. He could understand why Hotch didn't want to do it, even if he didn't agree. Still, he wasn't going to try to change his mind about this. The man had enough to deal with to also handle the guilt trip or any recrimination from him.

"Besides, I don't want to do anything to make Lewis suspect anything."

"Alright." The fact Hotch had the need to give excuses (no matter how valid they were) was proof that he knew disappearing without a word was not the right way to do this.

They fell silent.

Hotch fidgeted with his glass for a moment. "If I- If I wrote some letter for them would you make sure-"

"Of course."

The younger man let out a breath. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Just promise me we would meet again before you leave." Dave asked gently. He didn't want to force Hotch to do it, but he needed this. "I don't want to come back here only to find an empty apartment."

"I don't think-"

 _"Please._ I'm your closest friend. There's nothing suspicious about me coming over for a visit. With everything going on, it makes sense that I would be here to support you."

"Okay."

Dave let out the breath he was holding. On a whim, he reached to lay a hand on Hotch's shoulder and squeezed it softly, not letting go. He heard Hotch let out a shaky breath as the man bowed his head.

 _"We_ will get him, Aaron. You have my word. The team isn't going to stop working until we catch that bastard and you and Jack are back home."

There was no reaction from the other man and Dave didn't blame him. The words were very similar to the ones he offered him in the hospital after Haley and Jack had to go into witness protection, and Dave had no doubt Hotch was remembering the same thing too.

The older profiler tightened his grip. "Hey. You heard me?"

"I did," Hotch murmured without looking up.

The reply wasn't particularly reassuring, but Dave didn't press further.

The only thing he could do for Aaron and Jack now was made good on his word and work relentlessly to find Lewis, and he was damn well going to do it.

 **OoOoO**

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 **a/n: It's been quite a while, I know, but like I said, with my favorite character leaving the show I felt the need to write something. I don't have anything to say about Gibson's dismissal since I don't know what really happened, but what I can say is that I'm sad to see Hotch go, especially because we didn't get a _proper_ farewell, not to mention the scene of the revelation was so badly handled that it feel as if the team didn't really care about it, which was just wrong.**

 **Something good that came out of this mess for me was that I finally got the inspiration I needed to work on my old CM stories (something I had been meaning to do for _years_ now). I'm currently in the process of doing a heavy rewrite of each one, so it may take me some time to finish. The first two are already up, and while there may still be some issues with them, I'm confident to say they are _a lot_ better now. Just in case any of you are interested in reading or rereading. :)**

 **Lastly, this is** **unbetaed** **and I'm not a native speaker, so please feel free to point out any mistake you may find.**


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